The Maharashtra Police on Thursday booked six persons including Minorities Democratic Party leader Fahim Khan on charges of sedition and spreading misinformation on social media in connection with the clashes that broke out in Maharashtra’s Nagpur on Monday night, the Hindustan Times reported.

They are among 50 others named across four first information reports.

Besides the matter related to sedition, a case has been filed against persons who allegedly edited videos of the protest against Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. The videos allegedly “glorifying violence” were circulated online, ANI quoted the police as saying.

The second case relates to the video clips allegedly made to incite violence between communities and the third pertains to several social media posts that further fuelled the clashes, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Cyber Cell) Lohit Matani told ANI.

The police said that its investigation found that misinformation was initially spread on social media, triggering the violence, followed by more videos that “glorified the violence”, Hindustan Times reported.

“He [Fahim Khan] edited and circulated the video of the protest against Aurangzeb due to which the riots spread,” ANI quoted Matani as saying. “He also glorified violent videos.”

More than 80 persons including 11 minors have been taken into custody, Commissioner of Police Ravinder Kumar Singal was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.

The violence in Nagpur on Monday took place hours after Hindutva groups held a protest in the city demanding that Aurangzeb’s tomb located in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar be removed.

The clashes broke out in central Nagpur’s Chitnis Park at 7.30 pm. Stones were thrown at the police amid rumours that a cloth with the Islamic declaration of faith, known as the Kalma, had been burnt during an agitation by a Hindutva group in the late afternoon.

Unidentified office-bearers of the Bajrang Dal were quoted as saying by The Indian Express that its members had only burnt an effigy of Aurangzeb during the protest.

Another clash erupted in Hansapuri, an area close to Chitnis Park, between 10.30 pm and 11.30 pm, according to reports. The violence also spread to Kotwali and Ganeshpeth areas.

The police fired tear gas shells and resorted to lathi charge to disperse the mob in the Chitnis Park area.

A preliminary survey found that more than 60 vehicles were damaged in the violence, including 20 two-wheelers and 40 four-wheelers. Two cranes were also set on fire, with a construction company reporting a loss of Rs 70 lakh, The Indian Express reported.

Individuals whose vehicles were fully damaged will receive Rs 50,000, while those with partially damaged vehicles will be compensated with Rs 10,000, the newspaper added.

After the violence, prohibitory orders barring public gatherings were imposed within the limits of 11 police stations of Nagpur.

By 2 pm on Thursday, the police had lifted the curfew in areas such as Nandanvan and Kapil Nagar, and had relaxed the prohibitory orders in other parts of city between 2 pm and 4 pm for residents to buy essentials. However, the curfew will continue in Kotwali, Tehsil and Ganeshpeth areas, The Indian Express reported.

Aurangzeb’s tomb covered by tin sheets

The Archaeological Survey of India on Wednesday night installed tin sheets around Aurangzeb’s tomb, on the directions of the Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar district administration, PTI reported.

“The green net covering two sides of the tomb was in bad shape, and the structure was visible to those visiting the nearby Khwaja Syed Zainuddin Chishti grave,” an unidentified official told PTI. “So we have installed tin sheets.”

The violence on Monday came amid Hindutva groups, including the Vishva Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal, in recent weeks stepping up their campaign to demand the removal of Aurangzeb’s tomb, claiming that the structure is a “symbol of pain and slavery”.

The two groups held protests in several cities of Maharashtra on Monday.